Behind Closed Doors
by HoneyBoba
Summary: Rei ends up getting transferred to Samezuka Academy and is finding it tough to deal with separation from his team mates, relentless bullying from peers, and his alcoholic father at home. Rin isn't supposed to care about this awkward dork, but it's hard to ignore the bruises. Rin/Rei, rated M for harsh language, abuse, and smut in the later chapters
1. Chapter 1

I thought I was done with fanfiction, but anime boys keep dragging me back in...

Well anyways, I've been on the RinRei ship for a while now... Nagisa and Rei are adorable but for someone reason I just haven't been able to get Rin and Rei out of my head since the 4th episode. Anyway, please read and review~ I have a full schedule between school and work so getting feedback really motivates me!

Warning: This fanfiction is M for a reason. Some darker themes and harsh language lies ahead!

* * *

Head spinning, resisting the urge to clutch his chest or unnecessarily adjust his glasses, Rei stood facing the gates of the renown and visually embellished Samezuka Academy. School of the top-tier athletes and home of some of the best testing scores in the country. It neared the starting time for the first class, but Rei found himself feeling more and more reluctant as he walked to his homeroom, wishing nothing more than to be back at _his_ school. His real school. He dragged his feet in the hallways, eyes cast downwards, slight tremors from his spine reaching all the way down to his arms, wishing he could be back at Iwatobi where his friends waited.

_'How did I even get into this mess...'_, he thought bitterly, remembering the phone call that started this whole wreck.

**xx**

_"Obaa-san, please don't, I'm happy where I'm at!"_

_Rei's grandmother laughed with good nature, thinking her grandson was only being modest and stubborn._

_"Rei-chan, it really is no problem at all, you live in the Iwatobi district but I managed to pay a little extra and get you in to Samezuka. Your father can't handle these sorts of things, but I'm going to make sure my grandchild gets the best." _

_"But Obaa-san, if Otou-San finds out-"_

_"It'll be our little secret, right Rei-chan? You live on the outskirts of the Iwatobi district so it'll only be another train stop or two away."_

_Rei tried to argue with his grandmother in a hushed voice, but she laughed everything off and insisted that he not be so sheepish. _

_"If I had known that Samezuka was so close, I would have enrolled you there in the first place! My little Rei, it'll be a little hard transferring in the middle of the semester, but I promised your mother the very best for you! Now no more fussing, the transfer has already been made. And please," she said a little softer, "watch out for your father. So many years have passed but he's still not over her death... it must be so hard for him...", she trailed off. _

_Rei begrudgingly thanked his grandmother and hung up the phone with dread filling his body. He stood in the hallway in front of the house phone before he heard some shuffling from the television room down the hall. Adrenaline spiked through his body as he rushed down the other side of the hallway and up the stairs towards his room. Locking the door to his bedroom, Rei sat quietly at his desk, listening to see if he could hear where his father was moving. When the house remained dead silent for a stretch, he let out a exhale filled with relief. _

_'Please...' Rei thought, one hand grasping his forehead as he bent over his desk, ears flooding with the rushing sound of blood. 'Please don't let Otou-san find out about Samezuka.'_

**xx**

Rei sat alone on the school grounds along one of the side walls, watching many of the other students pair up and group together to eat lunch together. Alone, he pulled out a swimming theory book and read quietly. At first his stomach made small sounds of protest, but by now he was quite good at quieting them. Very rarely did he have enough time to prepare a lunch in the morning, around waking up early enough to catch the right train, and between avoiding his father. His reading, however, was interrupted when a shadow was cast over his book. He looked up and saw a few fellow first years looking down at him.

"You're the transfer student, right? Ryugazaki?"

Rei stared for a moment, then sheepishly adjusted his glasses.

"Yes! Today is my first day." He quickly stood up to make a proper impression on these strangers. "I was a first year at Iwatobi, but I'm very excited to be at Samezuka!"

He gave a slight, polite bow which the other boys returned.

"Yeah, I remember you from the first track meet of the year between Iwatobi and Samezuka." Rei was surprised they recognized him from that one meet before he quit to join the swim team, but nodded enthusiastically anyway. "We're all first years too, so why don't you come sit with us? You know, really get you acquainted with our track team."

Rei internally jumped up and down with glee, but on the outside he gave a cool cough and adjusted his glasses more. "Of course, I don't see why not." _'Samezuka students are so friendly, I had no idea it would be this easy to make connections'_ Rei thought as he slung his bag over his shoulder and followed the unknown students farther behind the school.

**xx**

Back colliding with some garbage bags left out for collection, Rei stifled a cry of pain and opted for a harsh grunt instead. Blood dripping from his nose, down his face, he glared up at his assailants with venomous eyes. They all laughed when Rei tried to get up again and the leader of the pack kicked him back down.

"I'm not going to fight with you." Rei spat at them. The boys just smirked.

"Then you're going to get you ass kicked in. You made us look like shit in front of our upperclassmen when we lost to Iwatobi at the meet. It was the first track gathering, but that's also the best time to make an impression, and your school fucked us over."

Another boy rummaged through Rei's backpack and pulled out a his swimming theory book, looking at it with disgust. "This is what you do for fun? Fucking loser faggot." He began ripping pages upon pages out of the book and the other boys laughed like hyenas. Anger shot through Rei's veins like electricity as he lunged for the other boy, but as soon as he got hold of the collar of the boy's shirt, the two others were on him, ripping him off and kicking him to the ground. With all three kicking at the same time, Rei had no open spot to retaliate with. He protected his face, hoping that above anything else, his glasses weren't going to be broken in the scuffle. '_If Otou-san sees me with broken glasses, he'll-'_

"What the fuck is going on back here?"

The blows immediately stopped and Rei lifted his head to look, heart absolutely still. If it was a teacher there was no way they were't going to call his house for fighting, there'd be no way to get out of this one, it was too late, his father would-

"Get the fuck outta here, all you little first year shits!"

The three assailants were sent running when an older, maroon haired student came charging towards them, faster than a shark towards fresh blood in the water. He stopped as soon as they turned the corner, and then turned back to Rei. They locked eye contact for a moment.

_'Why does he look so familiar...'_

The sensation of the cool blood dripping further down his face an down his neck brought him back to reality. He pulled a tissue out of his pocket and tried to wipe it away the best he could, looking away from upper classman with embarrassment burning in his eyes. Rei was strong, no doubt about that, but he hadn't seen the three students turning on him coming.

"T-thanks." Rei said painfully as the older student walked over and offered a hand to help Rei up. "What the fuck was that about?" the maroon haired boy asked, eyebrow turned upwards, unimpressed. Rei shuffled in his place, both with anger and shame for being caught losing a fight.

"I'm the transfer student," Rei grumbled, "I suppose it was my welcome to Samezuka."

The older boy continued to stare at him, eyebrow still raised, but finally let it go with a sigh. Crouching over, he began to pick up some of the crumpled and ripped up pages from Rei's once pristine book. Rei faltered, but soon began helping, figuring that this boy wasn't going to also beat the shit out of him. They worked in silence clearing the area before the upperclassman broke the silence.

"Rin."

Rei looked up surprised. When Rei didn't respond, the maroon haired boy sighed with annoyance and said, "Rin, My name's Rin."

Rei stared but then caught up with himself when Rin held out his collection of Rei's papers. "I'm Rei! Thank you, Rin-sempai."

Rin snorted and rolled his eyes. So Rei was like him. A guy with a girl's name.

"Whatever. Don't let this happen again." Rin walked away, hands in his pockets. Before he turned the corner, he turned back to Rei and said, "Go to the bathroom before heading back to class. You still look like you got the shit beat out of you." Then Rin disappeared begin the corner.

Rei stood there for a few more minutes, looking down at the stack of beaten papers in his hands.

Fucking perfect. Absolutely fucking perfect.

**xx**

Rei slipped into the house like a silent cat, the door not making any noise as he opened and closed it. He knew exactly where to step to make sure the floor didn't make any creaks and reveal his arrival. His swim jammers where tucked discreetly away in his backpack. Samezuka allowed him to continue to participate in Iwatobi's swimming club since he wasn't anywhere near talented enough to actually make it on their team. The used some excuse or another that it was because Rei was technically still in district for Iwatobi, but Rei honestly couldn't care any less. He had a feeling going to the club to see Nagisa-kun, Haruka-sempai, and Makoto-sempai was going to be the only good part of his days from now on. He had almost made it to the base of the stairs when he shuddered at the sound of a slurred voice.

"Is that you, Rei? Get your ass in here!"

Rei throat tightened, he swallowed lightly, and turned back down the hall and entered the television room, careful to keep his head slightly lowered and eyes refraining from direct contact.

"I'm home, Otou-san."

Rei's father, taller and heftier, sat unshaven upon a room full of garbage. Empty bottles of alcohol littered the room, and Rei's father chugged half a bottle of hard liquor as Rei spoke. When it was empty, he threw it across the room, not caring where it landed as he then sloppily lit a cigarette.

"Coming home without so much as a hello to your _father_? I think you've forgotten your manners."


	2. Chapter 2

Shameless to update so soon, but I've been wanting to write this one for a while hahaha. Thanks to Substitute Deathberry For being my first reviewer for this story~

* * *

Mind racing, Rei tried to calculate his limited options. Right now he only had three. Stay and fight, take the lashing, or try and beat his father in a race upstairs and lock himself in until his father either gave up, or passed out. Rei didn't have the luxury of picking, though, before his father was upon him, yanking Rei by his shirt collar. Bristling with the anger he had internalized from the fight earlier, Rei wrestled his father's hands away from him, which proved to be a bad move.

"You little shit!" Rei's father slurred loudly, wild in the eyes. Rei tried to side-step and make a run for it, but a hand shot out and tangled itself in his hair, throwing Rei halfway across the room and straight into the hard edge of the solid coffee table, successfully causing it to crash onto it's side. Rei hit it crookedly, taking the full impact at the back of the hips. He stumbled even further from the painful blow before tripping over his feet and falling to the floor. His father came forward to kick Rei, but fell over, too drunk to stand. Rei made a break for the stairs.

He locked the bedroom door sharply and held his ear up to it, listening for motion. When he was sure that his father had settled down (probably with more alcohol), Rei sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He gingerly put his backpack next to his sitting table and flung himself onto the floor, staring at the ceiling. There was a sharp pain in his side, and he thought of all the work he still had to get done. All the work he'd have tomorrow. All the work he'd have after that, and after that, and after that...

Forcing himself up, Rei knew that he had to take care of his responsibilities. He had no other way out. His grandparents took care of most of his needs from abroad, and he had no idea if they knew the gravity of the situation and weren't saying anything, or if they just thought that his father was a little troubled and took responsibility to help Rei out and not dig into their lives. Rei couldn't remember the last time he heard from his older brother, and despite having the police called on them a few times, the police refused to get involved in family affairs, making up excuses that it's hard to work through a 'he said, she said' altercation, or that they were probably provoking each other. He hadn't told any of his friends, he knew that they would do everything they could to help but Rei just couldn't stand the thought of the shame.

But Rei had been living like this for a long time, so he had ways around it. He opened his closet to reveal a small refrigerator and stash of food. His father only bothered to buy the bare minimum of junk food to feed himself, let alone enough to feed Rei, so Rei became talented at depending on himself. If his father found out, he would get absolute hell with a beating for withholding potential alcohol money, but to keep up with swimming and running, Rei needed a strict and plentiful diet. Rei also worked with web design and some hacking from his own computer to make money. He couldn't bare taking any of his grandparent's while his own father took so much of their money. Boxes in his closet held medical supplies, various ointments and bandages. Perhaps his most valuable coping tool came in the form of a small tattoo cover-up kit. It was extremely expensive, but it was the only thing strong enough to cover up deep blues and purples, along with needing the specific remover. That way he didn't have to worry about it washing off in the pool, knowing there was no way he'd be able to come up with a convincing lie.

Taking the remover bottle, he wet a tattered rag with it and gently rubbed it along his face. As the concealer washed away, bruises seems to bloom on his face. A black eye, his left cheekbone, small beads along his jawline, the sharp edge of his mouth. He ran it up and down his arms, and his wrists and forearms reveled bruises all along the diameter, an indisputable sign of being violently grabbed there. His forearms were littered in defensive bruises from using them to protect his face. Rei ran his fingertips along them very gently, mentally noting which ones were yellowing and disappearing, and which were deep, dark, and concerning.

His fingers stopped at one of the few little holes that could be found hiding around his body. This one was found right in the crook of his inner elbow, an angry brown colour. He grabbed a cream from out of his medical stock in the closet and smeared in softly on the mark. Cigarette bun scars were hell to heal.

**xx**

Against everything in his body begging otherwise, Rei woke up bleary eyed and slowly dragged his body out of bed. Another night of being so exhausted that he fell asleep in his school uniform. He was too sore to go running this morning before catching his train.

_'Gym today is swimming..'_ he thought absent mindedly. He had Physical Education as one of his earlier classes, so there was no point in showering now since he'd be required to before getting in the pool. He inspected his bruises in the mirror to see if they had gotten any better. Their deep colour wasn't a positive answer. Tender care was given to reapplying the tattoo cover-up to his face, neck, and arms. He hadn't bothered rubbing off the previous cover-up from his front and back before he went to sleep, but they could last a few days before they started showing on their own.

Rei quickly packed his school supplies and managed to get down most of his breakfast before he heard creaks around the house. Fearful that his father was coming out of a drunken stupor, he decided he'd rather sacrifice another chance at lunch if it meant avoiding a beating right before school. Quickly shooting out of the house and down the roads, Rei sighed as he found himself at the train station, wiping his glasses on his shirt while he waited.

**xx**

Rei's breath came in harsh, fast puffs as he stood locked in a bathroom stall. He had been in the middle of changing in the pool's locker room for his gym class when he realized that he hadn't even bothered to check if the blow he took from the table the night before had left a mark. Countless other bruises and the few burns were safely concealed, even the ones from the Samezuka students since he had had time before Iwatobi swim practice to reapply, but there was no way around this one. He had only five minutes to put on his suit, shower, and be out to the pool.

_'You're slipping, Rei, you're fucking slipping'_, he thought lividly, unbelieving that he had been so careless. This bruise was massive, a pure navy and eggplant colour that jumped out in contrast to his pale skin. Rei begrudgingly slid into his swim suit when his heart stopped for a second time. The waistband just barely covered the very top tip of it. Rei let out a shaky breath and almost collapsed to his knees and then smiled with victory. He burst from the bathroom stall, threw his school uniform in his locker with his backpack, and ran out to the pool deck, right into-

"WHAT THE- underclassman, watch where you're going!"

Rei stumbled back, red in the face, desperately trying to play it cooly off, when he looked up and-

"R-Rin-sempai!"

Rin grumbled and ran his hand through his hair, glaring at Rei with a disapproving look. Being on the swim team meant having extra swimming-related classes, including being a mentor during the first year's swim period.

"You've got the body of an athlete. Let's see what you can do." Rin snorted as he waved Rei off and walked away. Rei made a confident fist and his eyes sparkled, thinking about how Haruka-sempai, Makoto-sempai, and Nagisa-kun had finally broken through and taught him to swim- or, er, not to sink.

After they had been dismissed from the pool, Rei waited for everyone to finish changing and leave for lunch before he grabbed his waistband and began inspecting the bruise. Morbidly, he beamed from successfully hiding it when all seemed lost. He theatrically adjusted his glasses and smirked at himself. When he opened his eyes, Rin was staring from him from across the locker room, arms full of towels. Rei didn't know how many times his heart could stop in one day.

"The fuck was that?" Rin asked with a contorted face. Rei's mind was rushing, yet empty. He blurted out the oldest excuse in the book.

"I fell!"

Rin stared at him for a long time. Rei struggled to keep eye contact while his throat constricted and his limbs shook as anxiety ripped through his body. They stared for a while, when suddenly Rin sighed and rolled his eyes.

"A total nerd and clumsy? Why am I even surprised. No wonder you're such a fish out of water- even when you swim. That was shit out there."

Rei almost burst out smiling, but he quickly caught himself. He put on a fake indignant look and said "It's hard to look beautiful in the water! And besides, you're on the school's official swim team! You need to level the playing field for me!"

Rin snorted and walked over to Rei, snatching the towel out of his hands. Rei filched and jumped back, fearful eyes staring at Rin.

"What, you think I'm going to beat on you like those asswipes from yesterday? I have better things to do. Now come on."

Rei slowly untensed and stared very suspiciously at Rin.

"Come where?"

"To lunch. Come on, you're making me late."


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for all the reviews and follows, everyone!

* * *

Rei's mouth fell agape, but with a quick "Yes, Rin-sempai!", he threw back on his school uniform and jogged out of the locker room to match Rin's pace. Once he cleared the doorway, Rin shut and locked it, returned the keys to the teacher's office, and-

walked away.

Wordless, and without looking back. The footsteps grew quieter and quieter. Rei stood there for a few minutes, unmoving, just staring ahead. When he was sure Rin was far ahead of him, he adjusted his glasses and made his way outside, hiding his slight limp as best as he could. He should have known better. What did he think would happen, anyway? When he felt many eyes upon him and heard whispers as he passed, he seized up with anxiety and embarrassment. Rei wasn't sure what he was expecting out of today, but he found a small corner of the school grounds and rooted himself there, pulling out a book to get lost in. This was all he could do from now on.

**xx**

"So, how was swim mentoring for the first years?" Seijuro asked, not really paying attention. Rin scoffed and bit angrily into his lunch, obviously annoyed. "Shit, all of them. Even that new guy, built like a swimmer but he'd be the first damn one to drown." Nitori looked up, quizzingly, and said, "The new first year with the glasses?"

"Yeah, is he in your class or something?"

Nitori waved his hands nervously and stuttered, "No, not in my class! But I did, um, hear some things about him."

Seijuro and Rin looked at each other, before Rin looked back at Nitori with a bored, raised eyebrow. "What, that he was a fucking nerd?"

Nitori seemed to get more and more fidgety. "N-No, that he was picking fights and, ah," Nitori looked away, "some students were saying that he needed to learn his lesson. I-I'm not sure what they meant by that, though."

Rin looked back at Seijuro for a few moments before sighing and standing up with a huff.

"So fucking lame" he grumbled to himself as he walked away from the lunch group, hands in his pockets.

**xx**

There were a handful more this time. Rei stood in the middle of the circle, slowly turning his head to look all the around at the students encasing him. The anger bubbling in his stomach told him to fight back, but the pain of his sore body and stress-ridden mind told him to take the first opportunity he could to run and avoid it, lest a teacher found them and called home.

"We're here to make up for the trouble you caused yesterday." The ringleader said smugly, arms crossed over his chest.

"You seem to be remembering it incorrectly." Rei glared back, "It was you who started the fight with me."

"That's not what you all heard, right?" The rest of the students snickered as the ringleader laughed and shrugged. "See? It's obvious to see who needs to be taught their lesson."

Rei slightly adjusted his stance, calculated to give him a little bit more leverage, but not enough to provoke a reaction just then. "No lunch, huh?" the other boy said as he scanned Rei. Taking his own lunch out of his bag, the fellow student walked slowly up to Rei until they were eye to eye, then proceeded to take the top off and dump the contents on Rei's head, food sliding down his hair, face, and staining his shirt. Rei stood white knuckled as the offender leered at him, and Rei knew that he was about to snap.

A firm grip was taken at his collar, and as the other boy wound up his arm to strike, Rei discretely made his own fist. The second the racing hand got close enough, he would block with one arm, and with the other, he would unleash hell. Rei's body jerked, his knuckles growing even whiter than before with his clenched fist-

Rei saw a flash as the other student was punched clean in the face, the force sending him practically through the air. One by one, each other students had their turn getting a punch to the jaw, a kick to the stomach, and as they ran off, the ringleader was personally grabbed by the back of the collar and thrown after them.

Turning back to look at the food covered underclassman, Rei made direct eye contact with Rin's sharp eyes and averted his gaze. Absolutely burning with the shame of being found a second time, covered in wet food, Rei found his body shaking uncontrollably with anger. Wordlessly, Rei picked his backpack off the ground and made a sharp pivot away from Rin when he felt a large, calloused hand grab his wrist. Instinctively, Rei shuddered and tried to rip his arm away, unsure if was fear of being hit, pain from his covered bruises being grabbed, or both, but Rin was a bit stronger and managed to pull Rei back and force Rei to face him.

"Fucking trouble everywhere you go!" Rin barked, exasperated, and dragged Rei to the closest bathroom. "Wash your jacket in the sink. There are dryers by the pool for towels and shit, if you hurry then it'll be partially dried by the time lunch is over. Rei followed the directions without a single word, trying to scrub as hard as he could with hand soap to get the stains out of the white uniform. Once Rin left with the soaking wet jacket, Rei washed his hair and face in the sink. The tattoo cover held fast to his skin, but perhaps to comfort himself, Rei made sure to apply just a little bit more.

Rei stood hunched over the sink and waited for what felt like hours. School at Iwatobi had been his escape from home, but if thing continued the way they had been going, there would be two hells for him. He thought about Makoto-sempai, Haruka-sempai, and Nagisa-kun, and how he would have to show up to swim practice every day and make up stories about how nice Samezuka was. What good would come out of telling them the truth? All it would do was worry them. His time with them was too precious to waste like that. It was the only time he had in the day to be happy, and God damn it all, he was going to be as happy as humanly possible.

His skin came in contact with a damp softness and he jerked back and looked up. Taking the half dried jacket from Rin, Rei murmured a "Thank you", and brushed past the older boy, walking back to class. A large hand grabbed him by the back of the neck and yanked him backwards.

"R-Rin-sempai, what are you-"

"Come on."

Rei stared warily and tried to turn again, but Rin walked in front of him and physically blocked the way.

"I said," Rin started, through clenched, razor pointed teeth, "come on."

After everything that had happened the past day, the past week, the past few year, everything, Rei wanted to yell that everything and everyone could just fuck off; but he didn't. Rei was too tired. Rei was absolutely exhausted. So he faltered, and let Rin lead him to the front gates of the school.

"Rin-sempai, the lunch period is about to end. What are we doing here?"

Another harsh look from Rin, another annoyed sigh, another raised eyebrow, and another hand wrapping around Rei's wrist and pulling him along.

"I said come on. We're skipping."


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for all the hits, everyone! Please remember to review! Not only does it help motivate me, but also for past fanfictions, some of the best ideas I've gotten for past stories has been from reading a review

* * *

Silence laid heavy in the air as Rei dragged behind Rin, weaving around and about street corners before they arrived at a cafe. Rei waited outside, shuffling his feet and staring at the ground with irritation, not knowing if it was towards himself or the razor toothed upperclassman. As quickly as he had popped in, Rin brushed past Rei, plastic bag thrown over his shoulder. They ended up at a barren park, sitting on opposite ends of a swing set as the tension in the air built to a head splitting tightness.

Rei sat unmoving, hoping that if he waited long enough that Rin would give up and leave. His heart skipped a beat when he saw something shoot out for him in the corner of his eyes, arm lashing out and grabbing onto the fist before it collided with his jaw.

Rei blinked and saw that in his hand was not a fist, but a curry bun.

Rei made eye contact with Rin for the first time since they left school grounds. He was met with an icy scowl before the shark turned away with a sneer and they both ate separate and wordlessly. It was only when the white noise of the background happenings became too much to bear that Rei spoke up.

"Thanks... I mean... for the food..."

Rin stared ahead, away from Rei, with a sour look on his face. Seconds, and then minutes ticked by. Rei stomach knotted and he felt slight tremors through his legs as he could only imagine what Rin was thinking. Unable to take it anymore, Rei turned his back to Rin and walked, shakily and a little faster than he meant to, away from the park, away from this excursion, away from Rin.

"Where did you get that bruise from?"

Shudder. Completely frozen on the spot. Losing your composure is not beautiful.

"I told you. I fell."

Anger flashed across Rin's eyes as he sauntered up to Rei until they were eye to eye, and shoved his hard muscular chest against Rei's own built frame, causing the glasses wearing boy to stumble a step back. Foreheads nearly touching, needle-point teeth glistening, Rin repeated in a threatening, deep voice.

"Where... did you.. get that bruise from?"

Happening far too often as of late, something snapped within Rei again. Rei made a fast uppercut that Rin was barely able to dodge. Grabbing him by the cuff of the shirt, Rin wrestled Rei to the ground and a scuffle ensued, missed punches, harsh yanks and pushes. Flipping Rin over so that Rei was on top, Rei grabbed Rin by the shoulders and slammed him repeatably against the hard dirt, banging Rin's head each time. Rin grabbed Rei by the throat and pinned him, stomach to the ground, arms bent behind his back is a strong hold.

Rei hissed in pain as he felt the once healing bruises on his wrists and forearms blossom again, but unrelenting, Rin had him by the back of the neck and forced his face in the dirt, completely unable to move from the hold and from Rin's weight lying on top of him. Glasses having already fallen off a few feet away, safe from the fight, Rei squinted into the dust and his body vibrated with adrenaline and rage. Both were panting hard but Rin still laid on top of Rei to keep him from being able to get off the ground. When both had caught their breaths, Rin grumbled and shifted to get off the bluenette. Rin's hips rocked into Rei's, rubbing Rei's crotch into the ground, and before he could stop it, Rei let out a soft gasp.

Both froze on the spot at the noise. Rei could feel Rin staring at the back of his head and his entire face flushed with such a hot red that he could have sworn he was going to get sick right then and there.

"Did... did that hurt?"

Rei swallowed dryly, voice nearly shaking and said, "I'm... fine. It doesn't hurt."

Rin helped Rei up and retrieved his glasses for him, but Rei never lifted his gaze. He suppressed the shudders of humiliation as he cleaned the glasses on his shirt.

"You can have a free hit."

Rei's gaze snapped up to meet Rin's, but he was looking to the side with a hand running through his hair.

"Take the free hit before I change my mind." Rin grumbled.

Rei debated, and cautiously took grasp of Rin's collar in one hand, and with the other he struck his sempai across the face. Rin barely moved and after a second of silence, he smirked at Rei.

"Going easy on a free hit? Lost your chance, loser."

Had Rei half assed that punch? He couldn't tell. He couldn't think. There was no guidebook, at least not one he had read, that had a theory on how to deal with situations like this, or crazy shark-like swimmers.

"-eel better?"

Rei blinked back into reality and stumbled out a, "W-what?"

"I asked," Rin glared, that annoyed expression that was becoming pretty familiar, "Did that make you feel better?"

Rei stopped to think before realizing that he _couldn't_ think. His mind was slow and at ease. The frustration that had built up the past few days seemed weightless, all of it being expelled in that final blow.

"Yeah.." Rei breathed out. "Yeah. It did."

Rin dusted himself off and decided to make his way out, nudging Rei with his elbow as he passed.

"Oi. You just got here, so stay out of fucking trouble, why don't you? And make sure you eat for once. I can tell you're an athlete and you'll lose your shape if you don't. I have my own shit to worry about, so take care of yourself."

And like that, the altercation was over. He was well past the coloured playground equipment and short stone wall that encased the park when Rin cast a look over his shoulder to see if Rei had left yet. He paused for a split second when he saw Rei, staring off in another direction, a few lone tears streaking calmly down his face, hugging the curve of his cheekbone. A tightness ripped through Rin's chest and Rin gripped at his ribcage, confusion struck across his face.

The next day, word had already spread like wildfire across the school that Rei Ryugazaki was off limits to anyone who didn't want to face Rin Matsuoka.


	5. Chapter 5

Finally some Rin/Rei action! I'm really impatient when it comes to reading over fanfictions, but for some reason I always take a few chapters myself before establishing anything. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy, feel free to review or PM me

* * *

"Your boyfriend's pretty cute, Rin, how'd you manage to bag a guy like him?"

Rin coughed on his water bottle and glared indignantly at Seijuro who snickered back at the flustered razor tooth. The pool glittered behind them, slowly becoming still as the last few members pulled themselves out.

"He's a good athletic partner, that's all."

Seijuro laughed that friendly laugh of his and patted Rin on the back. "Right, you won't even look at anyone not on the swim team, but this guy comes along and suddenly you take him under your wing, huh? Running together in the morning, eating lunch together, if I read your phone correctly you were texting him yesterday after practice, too."

Rin pushed him away and snapped, "Yeah, because texting is the biggest romantic commitment known to man. Practice is over, I'm outta here." Slinking away to the locker room as Seijuro chuckled and shook his head, Rin changed and stood still in front of the locker while letting out a irritated sigh. He stood in silence for a few moments trying to even his head, when a small voice whispered "Sempai" behind him and Rin nearly jumped out of his skin, spinning around to see a sheepish little Nitori standing there.

"For fuck's sake, Nitori, don't sneak up on people! One of these days someone will deck you in the face."

Nitori fidgeted, fingers intertwined nervously, and it took him a few trieds before he could actually open his mouth and stutter what he wanted to say.

"Matsuoka-sempai, do you really like the transfer student?!"

Rin stumbled over his words, taken aback. He couldn't think up a lie fast enough, but he wasn't willing to admit that when he had first saw Rei, it was just the back of his head and for a split second he had mistook Rei's dark navy hair for Haruka's ebony black. And right now, he wished it would have been that piece of shit. If it had been Haruka, Rin could have just saved him from getting his ass kicked and tell him he better not get hurt before they raced again or else it wouldn't count. He hadn't expected for it to be a sarcastic mega-nerd. Rin had to say something, though, because Nitori was leaning in closer and closer, face becoming more distraught by the second, big aquamarine saucer eyes boring into Rin.

"He reminds me of someone I used to know, okay? So I just tried talking to him and he seems... alright."

Nitori blinked back for a moment before putting a slender finger up to his mouth to think. Finally, he said quietly to himself, "That makes sense... he reminds you of your ex."

Rin's jaw fell open as stomped past a flinching Nitori, yelling "I hate that asshole and I don't fucking like Rei!"

**XX**

Already hypersensitive to his surroundings, Rei took immediate notice to the snickers that Rin's captain would give them when they arrived at school after their morning jog, or when they walked out of the pool together after gym on the way to eat lunch. Of course, he also noticed how fidgety this made Rin. Every once in a while when they caught eyes, Seijuro would give Rin a thumbs up and Rin would absolutely lose his head. Rei would stare quizzingly at Rin, but Rin would avoid his eyes, storming ahead of the younger boy.

Sitting against the cool chain link fence on top of the school roof, Rei chugged his water as he whipped through his textbook, drinking down the words even faster. Rei had finished his own lunch, finally having time to start packing them again, but Rin was violently ripping apart his own food, grumbling angrily to himself. Peeking up a few times at the loud and messy eater, Rei finally rubbed his temples, sighed, and said, "Are you in a foul mood because your dive today during gym swimming was 13 degrees off?"

Rin slammed his bento on the ground and sneered, "Yes, Rei, I'm in a foul mood because my dive was _a few degrees off_."

Rin's gaze met with lavender orbs, crinkled with anger that spelled out 'I dare you'. Rin bit his tongue, but instead of apologizing for lashing out, he just scoffed and finished his bento. Rei raised an eyebrow at the rice stuck around Rin's mouth before simply sighing, "Not beautiful at all" and absent mindedly moved to wipe it away with a napkin when Rin's hand shot out to slap it away.

Fire flared behind the lavender eyes again as Rei shot up in his place, shoulders tense, and he gritted his teeth as he shouted, "Why have you been acting like this recently?!" Rin jumped up as well and pushed Rei into the fence, a rage behind his own eyes that Rei had seen before many times within someone else.

"Because," Rin yelled, shoving him up against the fence over and over again, sending violent shakes throughout it. He thought about the slick comments Seijuro kept making, he thought about the accusing giggles from Nitori, he thought about how he **needed** to focus on swimming _but he couldn't_, "Because you keep fucking making me confused!"

Rei's instincts took over and he shut down, curling inwards and raising his arms to protect his face. Rin paused and felt Rei's tremors in his hands, his eyes clenched tightly, biting his lip to keep any noise from escaping. Rin's eyes widened and eyebrows furrowed with a miserable, sinking feeling, but rage flashed through his veins just as quickly. He pulled Rei to his level, heads colliding with a painful thud, forehead to forehead, eye to eye. Rei's terrified eyes met Rin's uncontrollable fury.

"Why do you keep fucking doing that!" Rin screamed at Rei, Rei's shakes of adrenaline and Rin's shakes of anger blending so you couldn't tell where one stopped and the other one started. "Why do you keep acting like I'm going to fucking hurt you?!"

It was hypocritical, of course. In the short time that they'd known each other, Rin had already shown Rei violence, here he was, accosting him on top of the school's roof, but Rei was silent and Rin was illogical so he let words pour from his mouth like water.

"Why don't you live on campus at a _boarding_ school?! Why are you always hiding a fucking limp?! Why do you act like it hurts whenever I grab your arm?! Why haven't you made any other friends since you got here?! And where did you really get that fucking bruise?!"

Rei's resolve broke and he stood still before he mirrored his sempai by placing the same white knuckled grip on Rin's collar. His throat filled with confessions of everything, the years of beatings, cigarette burns, his blood stained on the wooden walls and floors of the house, going hungry every day until he learned how to scrape up pennies, how he was abandoned by the police, by his older brother, by his mother-

It wouldn't come out, though. The noise had died in the dryness of his throat. His confidence- or was it desperation- sparked out as he felt hopelessness take refuge in his stomach. His father would take him out of school for good, he knew he would. He'd have to leave Nagisa-kun, Haruka-sempai, and Makoto-sempai. He'd never get to go to college. He'd never be able to get out. He couldn't tell Rin. He'd never be able to tell anyone.

A violent jab to the chest sent Rin stumbling back as Rei sprinted down the stairs and zigzagged through the twisted hallways of the dormitory building, nearly slamming into the walls as he began to lose his cool. His chest constricted as memories flooded his mind, and he began to lose his balance. Two arms wrapped around his midsection and he half-stifled a cry of pain from having the recently kicked ribs bound so tightly. The other body pulled him back down the hall and with a jingle of some keys, he found himself stumbling into one of the rooms, Rin's room.

Rei whipped around, ready for another altercation, ready to yell and break all the furniture, ready for anything except what actually happened.

Rin's arms shot out and desperately wrapped up Rei, the force sending both of them stumbling until Rei's back hit the wall. Rei whimpered from the impact but Rin held on, unrelenting. They stood like that together, panting, unmoving, unsure. Rei shook and Rin held tighter.

"I'm sorry." Rin rasped.

Trembling, Rei tried to catch his shaky breath but found anxiety spreading through his blood. They sat in a cold, deafening silence for what felt like eternity, but slowly Rei lifted his hands to grasp onto the back of Rin's shirt. Rin's embrace softened but remained just as protective. Rei bit his lip with irritation. He didn't need protecting. He wasn't a damsel in distress and he wasn't a starry eyed twink either. He thought back to their first scuffle and flushed amber at the memory of the small moan he had let out.

"If you're making fun of me, just stop.", Rei demanded in what he could manage to be slightly more than a whisper. "I'm not.", Rin murmured back.

Rei gazed over Rin's shoulder into the fuzziness of the dim, unlit room. He let out a shaky breath upon realization that if he father ever knew about this, ever found out he was in a position like this with another man, Rei was dead. His heart rate quickened as his throat became too tight to breathe through and he bit back tears. He was absolutely dead. But maybe he had been from the start.

Eyes adjusted to the darkness, Rin stepped back to see Rei's eyes shine too bright of a lilac to be possible. He bit his own lip and before he knew it, both his hands were cupped around Rei's jaw, Rei's hands grasping at Rin's wrists, and Rin kissed the glasses wearing boy deeply against the wall.

They broke breathless and Rin took the sight before him in. He had always figured this would happen his some hot, big breasted cheerleader, not with a boy equal in height and possibly just as muscular as he was. Rei peered back, eyebrows knitted together, glasses low on the bridge of his nose. Slowly testing the waters, Rei blinked back the tears he refused to let fall and gingerly returned a kiss. Both their bodies went slack with relief and Rin tentatively kissed down Rei's jawline and neck. Their grip on each other tightened and Rin cautiously hummed in Rei's ear, "Do you like me?"

He scowled at himself for asking something so juvenile sounding until he felt Rei's breath on his own neck moaning back, "Y-yeah."

Silence and darkness. That is, until Rin scoffed and said smugly, "Yeah, I totally knew it all along."

Rei pulled back and blinked at him a few times... before beginning to laugh so hard that he sunk to the ground, holding in his stomach.

"W-what's wrong?!" Rin yelled, grasping at Rei. Rei pinched Rin's cheek painfully and tugged on it, rolling his eyes with exasperated sigh.

"You're the absolute worst, Rin-sempai. If I could give you a failing grade for that, I would."


	6. Chapter 6

It's really shameless for me to be updating so much, but I'm on a super Rin/Rei kick right now! There's a lot in this chapter so I probably won't be updating for a few days, so feel free to leave a review of anything you want to see happen in the future while I continue to work on the outline for the rest of the story

* * *

Everyone else had changed and gone to lunch, but in hushed voices the two swimmers hid in the pool locker room, partially because Rin loved to see how much it riled up Rei, the prospect of getting caught. Rei would never admit it, he probably wasn't even aware himself, but Rin could tell by the bodily reactions he always got.

"Your butterfly stroke is getting better." Rin chuckled into Rei's ear, slowly grinding his hips into the bluenette's as Rei bit his lip to conceal a hiss. Rin couldn't help but smirk into the younger man's neck. Rei could read up on intimacy and foreplay as much as he wanted, but that didn't change the fact that he was an awkward, nervous virgin and Rin had a bit of experience from Australia under his belt. Knowing Rei had never touched someone- or been touched by someone- like this, Rin would have to force himself to cool down and keep things limited to making out, gropes, and strokes through their clothing.

"Rin-sempai, we shouldn't keep doing this here, what if someone comes in?" Rin smirked and ran his hands gently over Rei's muscular chest as he bucked against Rei's hips again, earning another soft grunt. "Why, so no ones sees you burning redder than a bitch in heat?" Rei bit his lip and shuddered, but forced himself to fight for dominance with Rin, murmuring against the redhead's mouth, "Rin-sempai, don't treat me like a bottom." Rin's eyes flashed, a menacing smirk against Rei's skin as he retorted, "Well you're sure as fuck not going to be the top." More fumbled gropes and a few pants and moans later, Rei stuttered that he couldn't take it anymore.

"Weak. Well, come on," Rin said, giving him a peck before sauntering away as if nothing had happened, "let's see if we have enough time left of lunch to actually eat." Rei stared confused at how quickly Rin had shut off, but begrudgingly caught up. He adjusted his pants accordingly but snuck a look at Rin to see if he could read anything from his face, but there was nothing.

**XX**

Rei strolled along the dusky roads towards his house, the sun setting and his shadow cast long against the houses that he passed. His body was worn out beyond belief. The high intensity morning jogs, Rin pushing him in swim class, their heavy petting sessions that left both of them breathless but unsatisfied (but Rei was thankful that Rin didn't pressure him into more), the swim practice at Iwatobi with his team mates, and then the jog home. Every day left him tired to his bones, but things were better than they had been recently. Or at least Rei thought they were. He thought of the peck Rin gave him today and went the slightest bit red as he touched his fingertips to his lips. After they confessed they liked eachother, the kisses and feeling up started happening regularly, though Rei wasn't exactly sure where they stood in terms of a relationship.

They hadn't established they were boyfriends... Rin wouldn't use him as a fuck buddy, would he? Rei cursed that there wasn't any textbok that could give him a definite answer to something like this. Debating for a minute, he knew he had to be straight forward, wondering if it was bad that this had gone on for so long without clarification.

_"Good evening, Rin-sempai. I wanted to ask, do you actually like me?"_

His phone clicked shut after he sent the message, heart pounding harder than he thought it would. He flung it right back open as soon as it vibrated.

_"Wtf of course I do. What's this about, is something wrong? ?"_

Rei stiffened and tried to calculate a smooth reply.

_"No, nothing's wrong. I just want to make sure that you're not just doing this for the physicality." _

A few moments passed by before getting a message back and Rei felt a twinge of nervousness.

_"You think I'd use you? ?"_

_"I hope not."_

There was no reply after that. Rei sighed and pocketed his phone. He was over-analyzing. As usual. Caught up so deep within his jittery thoughts, he entered the house louder than he meant to and froze when his father met him in the hallway.

"Otou-san, good evening."

Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. It was Friday night. His father should have already been blacked out from his usual hard weekend drinking. When his father smiled, the overwhelming scent of ingested alcohol hit him right in the nose.

"Rei, I've been waiting for you." He smiled happily, distance between them closing.

**XX**

Trash spewn across the ground, Rin breathed deep growls between his clenched fangs, giving the already over-turn garbage can another kick. He took his phone back out and re-read the messages between him and Rei before huffing and raising his arm to throw it on the ground.

"Lovers quarrel?"

Rin hesitated, phone still in hand, and turned to his grinning taichou.

"I don't need that from you, Mikoshiba." Rin glared again at his phone. He couldn't believe the conversation he had just had. Rei must have really thought he was an asshole to believe that Rin was just looking for an easy lay. 'That loser must think I'm some sort of heartless bastard'.

"It's Friday night!" Seijuro offered. Rin scoffed and barked, "What of it?" The captain grinned that annoying grin and said, "Rin, you're too harsh! If you play tsun one moment and dere the other, you're only going to confuse people. That stuff only works in anime."

Rin raised and eyebrow at him and slowly asked, "What are you getting at, Mikoshiba?"

Seijuro chuckled and said, "Nothing. Just that Friday nights are great for going on excursions, especially when your practice isn't until the afternoon the next day." The fire headed taichou pulled out his own phone and sent Rin a message, before aloofly mentioning, "I got it from the records in the coach's office, good thing Rei had swimming for gym this semester or it wouldn't have been there." Without another word, Seijuro turned tail and waved himself away.

Once Seijuro disappeared behind the school's building, Rin flipped his phone open to find the address of one Rei Ryugazaki. "How much does that asshole know?", Rin asked himself. He didn't want to admit that maybe Seijuro was right, though. Showing up in the middle of the night to someone's house was too fucking cheesy.

**XX**

Tight fingers weaved taut around his neck, Rei sputtered and gasped as he was slammed into the wall only by the grip on his throat. His glasses laid abandoned somewhere on the floor, already punched off his face, but Rei's concern for them being stepped on was quickly forgotten as another fist made contact. He couldn't tell which happened first, the blood pouring out of his nose and down his face, or the split lip filling his mouth with blood. He coughed and gasped as iron devoured his taste and sense of smell.

"You thought I wouldn't find out about your new, prissy, _expensive_ school you had your grandparents buy you?" His father taunted with sloppy, runny words. "Here I am, nearly starving myself to support you, and every morning you run off to enjoy a day of luxury." Elbow pointed and raise, his father stuck him to the ground where Rei's head collided with a deafening thud.

"Imagine my surprise today at the bar when the father of an Iwatobi student asked me how you were enjoying Samezuka. You must think your old man is a fuckin' idiot for telling him that the uniform had just changed, huh?"

Inbetween every few words, Rei's father gifted him with a kick which Rei took with a harsh grunt, no matter how he tried to keep it in. In the chest, square in the back, against Rei's forearms as they desperately tried to protect his face and neck. Blood from his wounds leaked into his eyes, vision blurred even more than usual, head pounding, Rei was a ragdoll for the beating. He fought back at first, but the blind rage mixed with the hard liquor made his father unable to feel any of Rei's rebuttals. Crouching next to his smaller son, His father grasped a fistful of hair before slamming Rei's head down on the hardwood floor over and over again until Rei could only see stars.

Rei weakly tried to evaluate how injured he was. He was currently unsure if any of his ribs were broken, and he was concerned his wrist could be, too. He was bleeding from his nose, mouth, and knees from falling so violently to the floor over and over again during their scuffle. He felt bruises spring back to life all over his body, first trying to figure out if the largest were on his chest, back, arms, or legs, before giving up and just taking the remainder of the beating as his head went fuzzy. He weakly coughed a little blood out before his father got a few more kicks and stomps in. He pause for a moment, panting and almost stumbling over his feet, before lazily pulling out a cigarette and lighting it up.

Laying on the floor, motionless and unable to see clearly, Rei felt a hand tug his hair so that the entire nape of his neck was exposed and he gasped airily. He closed his eyes and tried to bury is face into the smears of blood on the floor, knowing it would not be able to block out the raw third degree burn he was about to be rewarded for this fight. He heard a distant echo of a thump that he tried to open his eyes- but he found himself balancing on the edge of black out entirely.

Rei forced his eyes open, the little squint he could manage, that is, and slowly the world started to form around him. He was laying on his bedroom floor, sheets and a pillow cushioning him. He lifted an arm to rub his eyes but froze. Black and blue marks and few burn scars that shouldn't have been there covered his arms. Despite everything in his body screaming out not too, Rei shakily and slowly raised his body from the makeshift bed and turned to the mirror on the wall before his mouth fell agape. Dressed only in his boxers, each and every mark was proudly on display. Deep welts down his muscular legs, blossoms across his built chest and abdomen, clear hand marks from his shoulders all the way down to his wrists, defensive blobs smeared across his toned forearms. He could barely make it out from the distance, but there was no mistaking the black splotches around his eye and consuming his jawline. Gingerly touching his neck, he could feel finger-shaped bruises growing around the diameter.

Worse than his battle wounds, though, was barely being able to see the reflection in the mirror of someone sitting behind him on his bed. Misery ripped through his ever fiber as he found it impossible to turn around, only managing to look at the blurry reflection. The silence was endless.. Or, Rei wished it had been.

"I hit him over the head with a chair." Rin finally murmured. "Right before he was about to... burn you. He passed out. I dressed the wounds that I could with the stuff you have in your close. I," He tried to catch his words, "I didn't know what else to do."

Silence again. Rei stopped entirely. Stopped breathing, stopped thinking, stopped everything. He wanted to wrap himself up into the cool sheets, he wanted the floor to open and swallow him up, he wanted to run to Nagisa's house and play videogames, or to Makoto's house to join his family for dinner like he had once before, or even sit in Haruka's room reading manga while the older boy sat in his ritualistic bath. Dried blood crackled in his throat.

"You found the tattoo cover-up kit?" He barely managed to croak out. Rei saw Rin's silhouetted reflection nod, even though the answer was obvious since it wasn't like anyone else would have been around to wipe him down with the remover. Rei hummed deep in his throat, laying back down and flinging his less injured arm over his face to cover his eyes.

He sighed with a smile and chuckled out lightly, "Oh no.". Rin's eyebrows turned upwards in concern at the action. Rei bit his lip and repeated "Oh no.". Rapid, pained breaths began bursting from his chest as he murmured out "Oh no, oh no, oh no," over and over again, the dam cracking and hot tears starting to pouring down his face, his eye still hidden behind his arm.

His entire body shook, his free arm grasping the wrist of his protective arm to tightly that his nails drew bits of blood. Rin jumped up and fell to Rei's side but hesitated, not knowing how to touch the boy without hurting him.

"I-", Rin cried out, panic obviously in his voice, "I came to tell you that I don't think I could ever like anyone as much as I like you!"

A sharp intake of breath before the damn broke entirely and pained sobs of fury and misery filled the room. Rin stared, wide eyed, never hearing wails quite like these before. Hunched over his bloodied and bruised junior, Rin ran his hands through Rei's hair gently, massaging the scalp and kissing all over Rei's forehead as he cried.

"It's okay!" Rin gasped out, his own hands shaky. "I'll kill him." Rin's voice quivered out. He swallowed deeply before his eyes nearly lit on fire.

"I'll fucking kill him." Rin snarled.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for the continued reviews, everyone! It reminds me that I'm not alone in this ship haha. I have a convention coming up, so I'm going to try and get another chapter or two in before then

I also wanted to explicitly state that while I am trying to keep to the same basic story, I really need to stretch out the timeline to fit in everything I want. So events that happened within a few days of each other in the show won't necessarily lay out like that in the story. It's because I don't want to downplay the big events, but I'm not willing to rush the story either. If it helps anyone put it in perspective, I imagined Rei switching to Samezuka right after the ocean incident, but I still write them as if there's plenty of times before the tournament (cause in this story, there is)

* * *

The dark walls looming over him were more intimidating than they should have been, an eerie glow cast from the weak light of his phone. Looking up one side of the hallway was the stairs, leading to the second floor where Rei had excused himself to the bathroom to gauge his wounds. The other side, at the end of the hallway, laid the room where Rei's unconscious father was. Rin paced feverishly, the conversation he had just had with Rei playing over and over again in his head.

_He had stared completely shocked at the picture on Rei's dresser, but he knew he couldn't blink away those faces. "Are you..." Rin swallowed his words, picking them carefully before starting again. "Are you on the Iwatobi swim team?"_

_Having composed himself, Rei replied, "Yes, I managed to pull some strings to stay on the Iwatobi team since I still live in-district for the school. They didn't bother pressing it since Samezuka's team is filled anyway. " Rin felt something creep up inside his chest, but he couldn't put a name on it._

_"Are... are they good team mates?" The razor tooth teen had managed to croak out. It took a while for an answer to arrive, but when it did, Rin felt a knot in his chest._

_"I think they're the best team mates and friends anyone could ask for."_

Blood pounding in his ears, grip way too tight on the phone, Rin finally pressed call. He cringed when that goofy, annoyingly strong voice finally picked up.

"How did the love confession go? Did it leave him breathless? Works every time in the movies, ya know. I'm sure it patched up whatever rough spot you went through earlier."

"No," Rin growled in a low, dangerous voice, "it was a fucking wreck."

Seijuro laughed on the other end and teased, "Sounds like you got yourself into a bit of trouble."

Bit of trouble was the fucking understatement of the year. They were absolutely cornered, no escape in sight. Rei had said the police refused to get involved, they were convinced that the fights must have been two sided since there's no way a boy so physically fit could be a victim. His brother had cut contact with the family once he got out of the house, and if Rei's grandparents found out the extent of what was going on, Rei would be forced to join them abroad and there went his chance to the dream school in Tokyo. Rin knew he wouldn't be able to get away with keeping Rei in the dorms for more than a few days at best. Their options were slowly slipping away.

Then the picture of the Iwatobi swim team flashed in his mind, but Rin felt himself sneering.

"I can handle everything myself!" He barked into the phone.

There was no way he was going to show up on their doorsteps asking for help. No, he wanted to be free from them, he wanted to walk to the other end of the earth to be as far away from them as possible, and if this meant taking care of Rei himself, so be it. He never wanted to see Nagisa, Makoto, or Haruka ever again.

_'And if I had my way, neither would Rei.'_ A little voice whispered maliciously in the back of Rin's skull.

"Hmmm, what was that?" Seijuro teased.

"I can fucking do this myself! I can fix everything myself! I don't fucking need anyone else's help!" Rin yelled back, fist colliding with the wall. Unlike those soft bastards, unable to do anything on their own without their circle-jerk of friendship, Rin was independent, Rin got shit done. That's why he was going to go places those guys couldn't even dream of. He heard a soft chuckle from the other end of the line.

"I'm sure you can," Seijuro smiled _(mocked?)_, "And I'm sure you're making that decision with Rei's best interest in mind, right? It sounds like this is about Rei, so I'm convinced you took great care in making sure you considered his needs and comfort."

Right through the heart. A sharp thorn just shot directly through his chest at those words. Rin, eyes panicking, trying to pull any excuse to justify himself out of the air, could only sputter unformed words. Guilt tore through his body when he couldn't find any way to deny that Seijuro had hit the nail on the head.

"I-" Rin started and trailed off, head burning with shame at the thought of even considering wanting to cut off Rei from his team mates. Dread pooled his stomach as he finally groaned out, "I didn't sign up for this."

"Then leave." Seijuro drawled coldly. "Whatever it is, I'm sure there are people out there more willing than you to help him. If you're wasting his time, leave it to people who will stick around when things are just as bad as they were good." The line went dead.

The Iwatobi swimmers flashed across his mind again. Rin's mouth went dry when he knew there was no way to dispute it. Makoto, Nagisa, and Haruka would burn down with a building if it meant proving their loyalty to someone. Rin only became more fevered, knowing he was stuck between two hard places. He pulled Rei's phone out of his other pocket, having picked it up after undressing Rei. He stared at the now cracked screen, biting his lip until the iron of the blood stained his tongue. He cursed God, he cursed Rei's father, he cursed Rei and Haruka and Makoto and Nagisa, and he cursed himself, but he still worked back to the same floating thought, _'You know what you have to do now. What else is there?'_.

Stomach tightening, fire through his veins, Rin wish he could unroot his feet from the ground and walk out of there, walk out on Rei. But something made him stay, and you don't stay for nothing.

"Hey Rei, what's up? It's pretty late, is everything okay?"

"It's me."

Both ends of the phone were silent, Makoto's stunned and Rin's resentful.

"What are you doing with Rei's phone, Rin?" Makoto hushed out dangerously. Rin prickled at the voice and almost chuckled nervously to himself, not sure he wanted to be cross with a killer whale.

"Are you at your house or Haruka's?"

"... Haruka's."

"I need to bring Rei over. Something... happened."

Rin couldn't read Makoto, but then again no one other than Haruka ever could when Makoto got serious. There was murmuring in the background and Rin only caught a sliver of Haruka's voice before Makoto boomed, "I want to know exactly what's going on as soon as you get here. Come quickly." A second hang up in one night. Rin slowly dragged his feet back upstairs, searching for a way out of having to face angry Momma Bear Makoto but only turning up empty handed. Rei was back in his room, further inspecting the split lip he had just tended to. Rei only managed to glance up, out of habit, before looking away, eyes narrowed in self frustration.

"Why didn't you ever tell your friends?" Rei's head snapped up, eyebrows drawn together, meeting Rin's stony eyes. He grumbled to himself and turned a cold shoulder to Rin. "I don't want them to know." The navy haired teen said begrudgingly. "I didn't want _you_ to know, either."

"They'd do anything to help you, you know." Rin said through slightly gritted teeth, eyes cast downwards. Rei looked back at him, confusion in his eyes and lips slightly parted, but it softened as he said, "You can tell they're those kind of people just by their photo, can't you?"

Rin bit his words back, not sure how to admit that he once stood where Rei was now, that it was his team. He glanced around the room, desperate to change the subject. His eyes hit the supplies in the partially opened closet. Medical supplies, stored food, emergency supplies that seemed better fitted for a storm shelter.

"How long has this been going on?"

Rei looked away again, eyes crinkling while he reflected. "Years." He said simply. Rin took in the body turned slightly away from him. The dark bruises stuck out in sharp contrast to his pale skin, the marks the same scale of colour as his navy hair. Rin couldn't have imagined what having this many bruises and marks could have look like, the way they wrapped up Rei's body and threatened to consume the entirety of his skin. Bandages were wound tightly around the wrist that Rei had feared was broken or seriously hurt, and both ankles were wrapped due to the twisting they had endured when Rei stumbled over his feet during the fight. The worst, though, was the wounds to his face. How Rei's face could go from flawless to a battleground with the swipe of a cloth and some remover would never leave Rin's memories. Hours ago he could have never been able to picture what Rei would look like with a beaten face, let alone entertained the idea.

It was only then that Rin realized what was missing from Rei's face, pulling the glasses he had picked up after Rei passed out from his pocket, stepping forward to put them on Rei. Rin didn't know why he didn't expect it at this point, but the same flinch, the same tripping over feet to put distance between bodies, the same defensively raised arms. They both stood a split second in the heavy tension, Rei's eyes wild with instinctive fear and Rin's desperate with a concern that he was none too good at verbalizing. Swiping the glasses out of the maroon haired sempai's hands, Rei limped to turn his back on his companion.

Blood rising again, Rin barked, "Rei, I'm trying to help-"

"I don't need help." Rei cut coldly as he adjusted his glasses strictly. "I won't accept help from anyone who looks at me with such pity. You look at me like a damsel ready to fall over at any moment; my body is strong, I have tuned myself to as functional as a human body can be. I can hold my own. I've been doing fine for years. If you're not going to take me seriously, then leave me here."

Rage nipped at the base of Rin's neck, throat filling with words of why Rei couldn't see how hard he was trying, or how Rei should just shut up and accept his feelings and actions, but something clicked that caused his throat to swallow it away. There was an uncanny familiarity in Rei's words. Rin didn't need help either. Rin also wanted to impress. Rin was just as much of a loner as Rei beyond the Iwatobi team mates. He forced his anger down, really really had to force because Rin's temper was as hot as his crimson eyes, before swallowing and finally demanding, "Then leave with me."

Rei turned (limped) towards him with furrow eyebrows, becoming visually agitated. "I told you. I can't. There's nothing I can do. There's nothing you can do. All I can do is wait until I can get out."

"We'll figure out something-" Rin bargained, slowly cupping Rei's face with both hands to force him to maintain eye contact. "I know the Iwatobi team from.. swimming. We could go there tonight. We could go there right now." Rei bit his lip but let out a small yelp when it re-opened his split lip, blood instantly pooling. Rin instinctively leaned in and sucked the blood from his lip before drawing back to run light fingers under the glasses over the black eye, the bruised cheekbone, the spotted jawline.

"There's nothing I can do, and there's nothing you can do," Rin echoed, "but-" He felt something clench in his chest and he desperately wanted to avoid saying those words, but, "those guys are the kind of guys that can do anything."

Rei searched Rin's eyes for any sign of relenting, any weak spot that he could target to convince the older teen that this wasn't the way, that he couldn't do this, but all he found was a hot, demanding stubbornness. Rei sighed out a long, shaky sigh.

**XX**

Rei had leaned on Rin the whole walk there, limping painfully and incredibly slow. He had refused to let Rin hold his bag of necessities but the shark mangled it out of his hands before urging him down the road. Dressed in pants, a t-shirt, and his Iwatobi swim jacket, Rei felt horribly, terribly naked with his marks open for anyone to see. He felt Rin's concerned glances after each strained puff he let out, but Rei was nothing short of persistent. Once on the street where Haruka's house laid they stopped multiple times, for Rei would hyperventilate, body shaking, insisting that he couldn't do this, begging Rin to let him go back. When packing, Rin had found a bottle full of anxiety control medicine and mulled over how for someone as stressed and emotionally pushed as Rei was, Rin should have been able to guess, but all the medicine in the world couldn't help them in that moment. Each time Rin would shakily insist on going further (Whoever entrusted him with this 'comforting' stuff was an idiot because he was bad at it and he knew it, but each time Rei miraculously found it in himself to trust the shark all over again. Maybe after all of this, Rin would show Rei his own secrets).

As they stood in front of Haruka's door, Rei's shoulders fell, feeling like the death sentence had just been placed upon him. He jolted at the loud knocks Rin rapped on the door and tried to listen for steps towards the door but couldn't hear anything past the rushing roar in his head. When the door opened he caught a split-second look at Makoto's even, collected face before their eyes locked and Makoto's face twisted in horror.

"Rei!" He cried with the same cold fear that had echoed into the dark stormy sky on the night Rei almost drowned. He lunged to grasp onto Rei's shoulders, to check if he was okay, but Rei violently shuddered, hunching over into himself as Rin made himself a human barrier between the two Iwatobi swimmers. When Haruka saw past Makoto's shoulders, a terror-stricken look that Rei had never seen, or imagined possible for the apathetic swimmer, infected Haruka's face, a panic large enough to compete with Makoto's filling his body. He lashed out, grabbing violently at Rin's collar.

"What did you do to him?!" Haruka roared with protective rage into Rin's startled face, when Rei's hand shot out and firmly grasped Haruka's wrist. Dropping the shark immediately, Haruka and Makoto turned their full attention to the megane.

"Oh my God, Rei..." Makoto gasped out, resisting the urge to cover his mouth with his hand in shock. "Oh my God..."

Rei burned under both of their wild eyed looks, but before he could turn and force himself to run through the pain like the track runner he was, he was ushered inside by dolphin and killer whale. Makoto supervised with nervous concern as Rin helped Rei up the stairs to Haruka's bedroom where the two teens had been previously while Haruka rushed to the kitchen to make tea, make food for Rei, to do anything tangible and productive at that moment.

The three made it to the room and settled to sit at the kotatsu, but they only sat in harsh, uncomfortable silence for a few moments before they hear the downstairs door slam open. Rei jumped back, mind filling with the worst possible scenarios, but they heard fevered voices talking in the kitchen before footsteps scrambled up the stairs and Nagisa burst into the room. Nagisa went wide eyed and breathless at the sight of Rei, barely managing to let out a whimper of "Rei-chan".

He staggered forward a few steps, face shocked but otherwise blank, until he crumpled to his knees and crawled closer to Rei. He reached out a slow hand cautiously, as if he wasn't sure if Rei would actually be there, but as soon as his hand made contact with Rei's chest, hot tears poured freely from Nagisa's eyes. Rei leaned forward to say something, to comfort Nagisa, to apologize, but his own throat tightened too much the bear.

* * *

I couldn't bring myself to leave Makoto, Haruka, and Nagisa out of this because I value the friendship between the boys so much TTwTT But now another problem arises on how they'll take to Rin suddenly re-entering their life under such extreme circumstances after he treated them so badly, ohoho. Expect more Rin/Rei action in the next chapter


End file.
